Golden-bellied Flyrobin
Microeca hemixantha
A small, plump flycatcher-like songbird with uniform olive-green upperside and entirely lemon-yellow underside. Note the yellow mark between bill and eye, contrasting with a dark line through the eye. Occupies lowland forest and mangroves, typically singly or in pairs. Restricted to the Tanimbar Islands, where there are no other similar small, bright yellow songbirds. Simple song is a series of three high-pitched whistles, “wit-too-wee.” Calls include high, thin “seeE” notes, accentuated at the end.
Identification
The golden-bellied flyrobin (Microeca hemixantha) is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is native to the Tanimbar Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Taxonomy
Genus: Microeca; Family: Petroicidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Microeca hemixantha
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1883
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Petroicidae
- Genus
- Microeca
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Trilling Tapaculo
Scytalopus parvirostris
Tiny, compact gray bird. Females are slightly duller, with brown lower sides and rump. Like most tapaculos, they are usually very shy and rarely seen in the open. Nearly identical to Tschudi’s Tapaculo, which is found at higher elevations where the two overlap; their songs are also very different. Trilling Tapaculo’s song is a long, rapid chatter.
Gray-banded Munia
Lonchura vana
A very localised but locally common, small bird of mid-montane grasslands on the Bird’s Head of New Guinea. Gray-brown back, pale gray head, white face, yellow rump and tail. Rufous belly and gray chest demarcated by a pale gray band. Forms small flocks in wet grasslands where it is easily seen along roads. No other munia species co-occur with this species. Call, soft tweeting notes.
Black-chested Snake-Eagle
Circaetus pectoralis
A medium-sized, mostly brown eagle with yellow eyes and an unspotted white belly. In flight it has brown-barred white wings. Immatures are mostly rufous. It is nomadic in savanna, plains, and semi-desert, where it forages primarily for snakes and lizards, sometimes hovering before dropping onto prey. Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle is similar but differs by having brown barring on the belly. Martial Eagle is much larger, has brown blotches on white underparts, and has uniformly brown underwings (visible in flight).
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